The Maninis folks sent me a big box of their mixes and also some cookies made with this gluten-free flour. The chocolate chip cookies were great; there was no sacrifice made for them to be gluten-free.

The product offerings are worth checking out. The company manufacturers Certified Gluten-Free mixes and pasta for both the commercial and home baker. Its rice-free products are made with native, minimally processed ancient grains and are produced in 50 lb bags for foodservice and 5 lb bags for the consumer retail market. There is no bio-engineering used to produce them and both its Washington state kitchen and blending facility have been certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group. Impressive.

Well, OK, let’s be real. I personally have been busy eating delicious things. Brittany Angell and Iris Higgins have been busy working.

These two blogger extraordinaire, who you might remember from our Recipe Fridays in December, have joined forces to create The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide, a two-part resource that takes the mystery out of gluten-free baking.

The two-part series, available now on Amazon.com (and soon directly from our site), have something to offer everyone. To borrow from the press release, the series “teaches people of all skill levels how to use alternative flours, unrefined sugars, and other healthful ingredients to achieve a taste and texture comparable to the “real thing.” The books offer over 100 gluten, dairy, and soy-free recipes, as well as hundreds of tips for both new and experienced gluten-free bakers.”Click to continue reading »

Note: Due to an overwhelming response to our blog post on McDonald’s and its gluten-free buns debut in Spain, we asked our Madrid correspondent Maricarmen Escamilla to do a taste test for us. Spanish speakers can find their celiac blog here.

McDonald’s in Spain has some history offering gluten-free products. In January 2011 it announced there would be gluten-free “Deluxe Fries”. Then in May 2011 it announced that gluten-free buns would be available with its hamburgers in all their restaurants. This announcement caused a huge BRAVO! amongst gluten-free Spanish diners.

Triumph Dining Foreign Correspondent Mari at McDonald's in Madrid

We were honored that Triumph Dining reached out to us and thrilled that they offered us the opportunity to do this taste test for their loyal readers.Click to continue reading »

I get awfully tired of packing my lunch for work. Or sorting out the gluten-free dining options near my office and wondering how gluten-free they really are.

Enter Kettle Cuisine and its gluten-free soups, found in my grocer’s natural freezer section. This is a working person’s dream. Each box contains a 10 oz single serving in a microwavable bowl. This makes them even more convenient than a can of soup.

So far I’ve tried the Roasted Vegetable Soup and Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles. The vegetable soup was surprisingly filling and the chicken soup, while not like mom’s, was very good.

Here’s a factoid for you: research shows that approximately 3 million Americans, or roughly 1% of the population, has been diagnosed with Celiac disease. This, plus the fact that many people choose to live gluten-free because of how it makes them feel, means that many more gluten-free products are showing up on the shelves of our local Safeways, Whole Foods, Ralph’s and Piggly Wigglys.

Udi’s is one of those companies that caters to us gluten-free diners. Its products include breads, bagels, granola, buns, cookies, muffins, pizza crusts, and cinnamon rolls. With these in the house you can almost forget you’re gluten-free! The products are easy to source and well-known and, in case you didn’t know this second factoid, its white and whole grain breads are the #1 and #2 top sellers in the segment.

The company has just introduced Millet Chia Bread and Omega Flax & Fiber Bread, which are fiber- and nutrient-rich, and fortified. I’m picturing a post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich on these breads! Early 2012 will bring fortified muffin tops, fudgy Double Chocolate Brownie Bites and three flavors of frozen gluten-free pizzas.

There’s a new kid on the block, an easy-to-read and easy-to-love digital gluten-free food magazine, Easy Eats.

The benefits of a digital magazine are many: video, links, recipe creation, soon-to-come iPad, iPhone and Android apps. The thing is, the photos are stunning and the stories are fun. That’s really why I’m loving on it.

Easy Eats’ editor is a mother of two gluten-intolerant children and a former food magazine editor, cookbook author and bakery owner. The magazine is all about YES! Yes, I will bake you cupcakes to bring to school on your birthday. Yes, you can have macaroni and cheese.

The magazine is so dang cute. It’s Real Simple meets Pioneer Woman. Some of the features I most enjoyed were “I Need to Make an Appetizer in 10 Minutes”, “He Cooks, She Cooks” and “Dinner? Done.”

Free trial subscriptions are available through October. (Hurry!)

Here’s a teaser recipe for you:

Pam’s Spicy Chicken Enchiladas

SERVES 8

PREP TIME 10 Min

COOK TIME 30 Min

3 ¼ cups salsa, plus more for serving

4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper

16 corn tortillas

Gluten-free nonstick cooking spray

Half of a white onion, thinly sliced

Sour cream, for serving

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°. Spread 1 cup salsa over the bottom of a 13-by- 9-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with ¾ cup salsa, 1 ½ cups cheese and ¼ cup cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Wrap the tortillas in two damp paper towels and microwave on high power until warm and flexible, about 45 seconds. Spoon about ¼ cup chicken filling into a tortilla. Roll into a cylinder and place, seam-side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling. Top the enchiladas with the remaining 1 ½ cups salsa and 1 ½ cups cheese. Coat a sheet of heavy-duty foil with cooking spray; cover the baking dish with the foil, spray-side down. Bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.

3. Remove foil; sprinkle the enchiladas with onion slices and the remaining ¼ cup cilantro. Let stand for a few minutes, then serve with sour cream and more salsa.

The folks at SOYJOY were kind enough to send some samples our way. Who knew these baked snack bars would be so tasty? Let’s start with the basics: SOYJOY bars contain no wheat, rye, barley or oats so they’re 100% gluten free. These bars are produced in a gluten-free facility.

First, the taste. We tried pineapple, blueberry, banana, and strawberry bars. Surprisingly, the pineapple were our favorites because they’re reminiscent of pineapple upside down cake, that classic 1970s dessert. Banana came in second because again, it makes you think of banana bread. You could even microwave it a bit if you wanted. I’ll admit it: we did. The strawberry and blueberry ones were good, too, even as they compete with both berries being in peak season as I write this.

Second, the benefits. Of course these offer a lot more nutritional value than just the fruit. The bars are made with whole, ground soy. Making it a good a good source of antioxidants, protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber and contain all nine essential amino acids. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock these past few years you know that soy is a superfood.

We’re seeing a trend toward using whole soy in products and not soy protein isolate or soy extract. The latter two lose some of their nutritional content during processing. And for those of you who care, SOYJOY soy is non-GMO. We also like the idea that there’s less waste because the whole bean is used.

Our recommendation? Buy some. Keep them in your car. Throw one in your purse and briefcase. Send them to school with the kids. They’re a healthy, convenient snack for those on the run.

It’s hard to decide what’s better: the taste of the cupcakes I tried in Elana Amsterdam’s Gluten-Free Cupcakes book or the enticing color pictures of them.

For gluten-free eaters who have been sad not to be able to hop on the cupcake bandwagon, this book is a lifesaver. This collection of 50 cupcake recipes is gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, and high in protein and taste.

We first tried the White Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting. The white chocolate chips and cherry pieces were of equal size and they were easy going down and easy on the eyes. Equally good were the Strawberry Cupcakes, and the recipe is here.

Most of these recipes are made with coconut or almond flour. Some are even vegan and dairy-free. Vegan chocolate lovers will be satisfied with the Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with the Vegan Chocolate Frosting.

Amsterdam’s Cinnamon Crumb Cupcakes were a good start to a lazy weekend morning. They can be topped with frosting or served without as the streusel topping is quite good on its own. One of the book’s nice features, other than its positively gorgeous photography, is the sweetness rating. This is helpful when deciding whether to make something as a snack or as a special dessert.

The book contains a few savory muffin recipes. While the ones I tried were good, the festive, dessert cupcakes are really the author’s sweet spot.

Gluten-Free Cupcakes is published on Ten Speed Press and available for purchase on Amazon. For more information about this popular food blogger, go to www.alanaspantry.com.

I love pasta in all forms, but there’s something about pasta that comes in long thin strings that brings out the noodle-slurping kid in me. Noodles are very versatile- you can load them up with meat, top them with sauce, sprinkle them with cheese, stir them into soup, or eat them as a cold salad. While traditional Italian, Asian, and Jewish noodles made from wheat flour are off-limits to the gluten-free diner, there are plenty of gluten-free noodle materials out there as well.

For example, rice noodles are quite common and corn pasta is growing increasingly widespread, but have you heard of pasta made from quinoa, konjac plants, or squash?

Gluten-free chocoholics rejoice! There are more gluten-free mixes of the sinfully rich, fudgy, chocolatey desserts that are brownies on the market than ever before. In fact, I counted twelve gluten-free brownie mixes in the latest edition of the grocery guide. Gluten-free baking mixes come in handy on those days when you really need a chocolate fix, but don’t have time to pull all of your gluten-free baking ingredients down from the shelves, so we’ve rounded up some of the top brands of gluten-free baking mixes.